Doubt about Savings Pass-Through Central to Pearlstein's Column in Washington Post
12/11/2011 12:05 PM
Consumer groups, anti-trust watchdogs, public officials and pharmacy groups have expressed serious skepticism that an Express Scripts and Medco merger would result in cost savings for consumers, employers and the health plan clients of the drug benefit middlemen. Now, add
Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein to the list of those voicing caution about believing the claims of Express Scripts and Medco.
Summarizing his position in his
column, Pearlstein wrote:
"So when PBMs promise to pass on 85 percent of the discounts they negotiate to customers, it becomes almost impossible for customers to figure out whether the promise is being kept. In view of this lack of price transparency, any merger among PBM giants should be viewed with great suspicion."